Shopping cart control and storage is a problem in the parking lots of many shopping areas. The problem stems from customers abandoning carts after they have taken the carts from the store to their vehicles for unloading. To avoid damage to customer's vehicles and to the shopping carts themselves, as well as to prevent clogging of parking spaces and thoroughfares, it has become common practice to provide cart corrals or storage areas spaced throughout the parking lot in an effort to encourage customers to return the carts. Store employees or customers on their way into the store can then retrieve the carts from these storage areas.
The cart corrals commonly in use are, as the name implies, primarily all metal, fence-like structures. The metal from which cart corrals are typically made has a number of drawbacks. It is likely to rust and deteriorate, limiting the useful life of the corral and discouraging patrons from using it by its unattractiveness and potential to damage clothing. In the event that a car door is opened into a metal corral, both the car and the corral are likely to be damaged. Visibility of such open, fence-like structures is low, which further deters customers from using them.
Cart corrals as presently constructed are often permanently installed in parking lots. In areas of the country where snow is common, such open corrals may go unplowed, preventing customers from employing them. In other cases, cart corrals may be left freestanding, subject to movement by shifting weather patterns or accidental collisions.
One alternative to metal cart storage stations is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,578 issued to McCue et al., incorporated herein by reference. However, a lower cost, colorful and highly visible, rust and scratch resistant cart storage station is needed.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved storage facility for controlling shopping carts in a parking lot or large area. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved storage facility for other objects such as luggage, stock carts, and warehouse carts. Other objects and advantages of the present invention reside in the provision of an improved, protected storage area for shopping carts which is economical to manufacture, and easy to ship and install. The present invention has further advantages in that it is non-destructive, highly visible, durable in use, and attractive to the customer.